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The Fiery Trial
- Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery
- Narrated by: Norman Dietz
- Length: 18 hrs and 7 mins
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Publisher's summary
Pulitzer Prize, History, 2011
In this landmark work of deep scholarship and insight, Eric Foner gives us the definitive history of Abraham Lincoln and the end of slavery in America. Foner begins with Lincoln's youth in Indiana and Illinois and follows the trajectory of his career across an increasingly tense and shifting political terrain from Illinois to Washington, D.C.
Although "naturally anti-slavery" for as long as he can remember, Lincoln scrupulously holds to the position that the Constitution protects the institution in the original slave states. But the political landscape is transformed in 1854 when the Kansas-Nebraska Act makes the expansion of slavery a national issue.
A man of considered words and deliberate actions, Lincoln navigates the dynamic politics deftly, taking measured steps, often along a path forged by abolitionists and radicals in his party. Lincoln rises to leadership in the new Republican Party by calibrating his politics to the broadest possible antislavery coalition. As president of a divided nation and commander in chief at war, displaying a similar compound of pragmatism and principle, Lincoln finally embraces what he calls the Civil War's "fundamental and astounding" result: the immediate, uncompensated abolition of slavery and recognition of Blacks as American citizens. Foner's Lincoln emerges as a leader, one whose greatness lies in his capacity for moral and political growth through real engagement with allies and critics alike. This powerful work will transform our understanding of the nation's greatest president and the issue that mattered most.
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Americans revere their Constitution. However, most of us are unaware how tumultuous and improbable the drafting and ratification processes were. As Benjamin Franklin keenly observed, any assembly of men bring with them "all their prejudices, their passions, their errors of opinion, their local interests and their selfish views." One need not deny that the Framers had good intentions in order to believe that they also had interests.
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Context Matters
- By Keith on 03-18-18
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Thaddeus Stevens
- Civil War Revolutionary, Fighter for Racial Justice
- By: Bruce Levine
- Narrated by: Landon Woodson
- Length: 8 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Thaddeus Stevens was among the first to see the Civil War as an opportunity for a second American revolution - a chance to remake the country as a genuine multiracial democracy. As one of the foremost abolitionists in Congress in the years leading up to the war, he was a leader of the young Republican Party’s radical wing, fighting for anti-slavery and anti-racist policies long before party colleagues like Abraham Lincoln endorsed them. These policies - including welcoming black men into the Union’s armies - would prove crucial to the Union war effort.
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Excellent bio of a political hero
- By Anonymous User on 03-11-21
By: Bruce Levine
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Black Reconstruction in America
- By: W. E. B. Du Bois, David Levering Lewis
- Narrated by: Mirron Willis
- Length: 37 hrs and 26 mins
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This pioneering work was the first full-length study of the role black Americans played in the crucial period after the Civil War, when the slaves had been freed and the attempt was made to reconstruct American society. Hailed at the time, Black Reconstruction in America has justly been called a classic.
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The textbook you should have had in high school.
- By Saleh on 05-06-18
By: W. E. B. Du Bois, and others
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Salmon P. Chase
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Salmon P. Chase is best remembered as a rival of Lincoln’s for the Republican nomination in 1860—but there would not have been a national Republican Party, and Lincoln could not have won the presidency, were it not for the groundwork Chase laid over the previous two decades. Starting in the early 1840s, long before Lincoln was speaking out against slavery, Chase was forming and leading antislavery parties. He represented fugitive slaves so often in his law practice that he was known as the attorney general for runaway negroes.
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This man was a big deal in our history
- By Scott B. Palmer on 09-18-22
By: Walter Stahr
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The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Presidents, Part 1
- From Washington to Taft
- By: Larry Schweikart
- Narrated by: John McLain
- Length: 10 hrs and 45 mins
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Back by popular demand, the bestselling Politically Incorrect Guides provide an unvarnished, unapologetic overview of the topics every American needs to know. The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Presidents, Part 1 profiles America’s early presidents, from George Washington to William Howard Taft.
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Ruining History to Own the Libs
- By Dee on 11-11-20
By: Larry Schweikart
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The Broken Constitution
- Lincoln, Slavery, and the Refounding of America
- By: Noah Feldman
- Narrated by: Noah Feldman
- Length: 11 hrs and 14 mins
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Abraham Lincoln is justly revered for his brilliance, compassion, humor, and rededication of the United States to achieving liberty and justice for all. He led the nation into a bloody civil war to uphold the system of government established by the US Constitution - a system he regarded as the “last best hope of mankind”. But how did Lincoln understand the Constitution?
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Takes you to Lincoln’s time for a new understanding
- By Jason Cecil on 12-22-21
By: Noah Feldman
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Year of Meteors
- Stephen Douglas, Abraham Lincoln, and the Election that Brought on the Civil War
- By: Douglas R. Egerton
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In early 1860, pundits across America confidently predicted the election of Illinois senator Stephen A. Douglas in the coming presidential race. Douglas, after all, led the only party that bridged North and South. But the Democrats would split over the issue of slavery, leading Southerners in the party to run their own presidential slate. This opened the door for the upstart Republicans, exclusively Northern, to steal the Oval Office. Dark horse Abraham Lincoln, not the first choice even of his own party, won the presidency with a record-low 39.8 percent of the popular vote.
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Excellent! Buy it today!
- By Anonymous User on 01-07-22
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Abraham Lincoln
- A Presidential Life
- By: James McPherson
- Narrated by: John McDonough
- Length: 1 hr and 55 mins
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In this compelling biography, McPherson follows Abraham Lincoln from his early frontier days to his turbulent years in the White House. This concise yet comprehensive account reveals why Lincoln still remains a quintessential American icon.
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In depth
- By Pat on 04-23-12
By: James McPherson
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What listeners say about The Fiery Trial
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Cynthia
- 07-29-13
Great Book about a Monstrous Injustice
When my son was in third grade, the class project was either George Washington or Abraham Lincoln. My son chose Lincoln, and we read the Emancipation Proclamation together. He was surprised that the January 1, 1863 Executive Order didn't actually free all slaves - it only freed those in Confederate states and territories. Almost a million slaves in the border states (Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland and Missouri) were still in bondage.
At the same age, I had imagined that Lincoln had freed the slaves all at once; and that on that very Happy New Year's Day, slaves left the kitchens and fields and went to live on 40 acres given to them by the government, plowing fields with a mule they received on the same day; and that they all voted in the next election. In my eight year old imagination, women voted too. I didn't learn for another year that women weren't guaranteed the right to vote until the 1920.
I explained, as we rolled newspapers into logs, stuck them onto a shoe box, and painted them with brown tempura paint to make a one room log cabin, that Lincoln did not want to have the border states secede. My son, at 8, was satisfied with the explanation. I wanted to learn more, though, and I am really glad that I found Eric Foner's "The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery" (2010) and took the time to listen.
Lincoln described himself as always antislavery, but until nearly the end of his life, he did not believe Blacks and Whites were equal. However, he was an ardent supporter of the constitution, and decided that the phrase in the preamble that "all men are created equal" did not mean all men were the same (people have different abilities, look different, and so on), but rather, all men were equal because all were given the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Slavery denied those rights.
Foner thoroughly discusses the federal and state laws on slavery, and how Lincoln strategized to use those laws and his presidential power to achieve total abolition of slavery, posthumously, when the 13th Amendment was adopted 8 months after his assassination. Lincoln's political and legal strategy began as a gradual, compensated freeing of slaves. The federal government freed slaves in the District of Columbia in 1862, paying owners about $400 a slave. Public opinion on slavery changed so rapidly by the end of the Civil War in 1865, the vast majority of the Union supported abolition; and owners were not compensated when it happened. Lincoln also addressed other concerns, including the important issue of what to do with the freed people. He initially supported deportation to Liberia or South America, but abandoned that position because Lincoln's understanding of Blacks grew to encompass totally equality.
I can't help but wonder what would have happened if he had lived through his second term - or if the Republican Party had selected a competent and moral Vice President instead of Andrew Johnson. Instead, Johnson was the first president to be impeached.
As to the 40 acres and a mule, it wasn't a myth - but the slaves entitled to that were freed from the Indian Nations.
This is the third Audible book on Lincoln I've listened to. The first was Delores Kearns Goodwins' "Team of Rivals" (2005) followed by Joshua Wolf Shenk's "Lincoln's Melancholy" (2005). Both are quite good, and they do address the issue of slavery - but not in the legal and cultural context that "The Fiery Trial" does. This book is a fresh study of Lincoln, not a compilation of old research.
[If you found this review helpful please let me know by clicking the helpful button. Thanks!]
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Overall
- D. Littman
- 11-13-10
great book about slavery and lincoln
You would be justified if you thought there are too many books about the Civil War & about Lincoln. I believe there are more books about Lincoln than there are about any figure in the western canon. So I looked askance at yet another one. Since I had read 2 other excellent volumes by Foner, including one I highly recommend about reconstruction, I took the dive.
Foner has produced something unique here. He has followed the line of the history of antebellum racism and thought about slavery, in general, and Lincoln's thoughts and actions about it in particular. There may not be anything 100% new in the book, but the way it is all put in one place, chronologically and with ample evidence, is what makes it a valuable addition to history.
Lincoln was both a man of his time and a professional politician. That has to be the starting point for any discussion of his views and actions about slavery in the United States. As Foner makes clear, Lincoln always had an abhorrence of slavery and unpaid servitude in general. Which does not mean he was not a racist by our 21st century standards. Lincoln was not the most anti-slavery man, or politician of his time ... had he been so, we would not know his name today, because he never could have become so prominent in politics nor become president.
Foner's accomplishment is to show how Lincoln's views changed over his career. From someone not terribly concern about slavery (in the 1840s, for instance) but still against it, to someone increasing concerned about it (in the 1850s) but mainly in the context of territorial expansion, to someone who gradually recognized it as the central cause of the war between the states. Along the way, Lincoln did drag along some of his cherished (and now repudiated) ideas, like the idea of colonization (which he held until late in his presidency in some fashion). And a habit of demeaning blacks in his manner of talking (like using the n-word and telling jokes). Highly recommended.
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- Gary
- 04-06-15
Context is everything, growth is a strength
Politics is the art of the possible. A perfect piece of art is the one in which no item could be added or subtracted from the canvas without making the picture less perfect. The author of this book has made the development of Lincoln's understanding of slavery like a perfect painting.
Lincoln is always ready to grow and revise his understanding of the 'peculiar institution'. He realizes that he can't get too far ahead of the people or the politics without marginalizing his ultimate objectives. For example, Lincoln fully believes the border states are vital for the success of the Union, and realizes their importance, "We want God on our side, but we must have Kentucky". He'll make political compromises in order to secure the border states while at the same time refining how he sees the moving parts that make up the issues of the time.
I just recently read the book, "What Had God Wrought", a history of America 1815-1848. From the book, it's clear that Slavery is the main character for American History during that time period. I wanted a book that filled in the period from after 1848 through the Civil War. This book, "Fiery Trial", does that superbly by showing how one man handled the question and how he led the change for the country as a whole and was always willing to grow and learn as the times would permit.
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- John David
- 08-24-18
Terrific book; Painful narration
The Fiery Trial is a valuable and very comprehensive review of the evolution of Lincoln's attitudes and positions on the issue of slavery and, to a lesser degree, race. Lincoln definitely grew over time, often forced by events. Foner's meticulous scholarship presents this fascinating and important process in broad scope as well as historical and personal context. The book demonstrates the remarkable duration of Lincoln's erroneous view that compensated emancipation and colonization could be a big part of the solution to America's founding problem. It also shows how Lincoln used public letters much as modern politicians use Twitter. The narration is not nearly as good as the book, however. One irritant is the reader's mispronunciation of Chief Justice Taney's name as "Tay-nee" rather than "Taw-nee." An even bigger annoyance is the voice the narrator uses when reading Lincoln's speeches. It is so awfully bad that it more than once nearly caused me to discontinue the book. I am glad I persevered, but if I ever return to the book it will be the print version. Maybe Lincoln sounded like that but, if so, it is a good thing radio and television had not yet been invented!
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9 people found this helpful
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- Sher from Provo
- 06-12-11
Not an easy read but worth it
This is not an easy read but I'm really glad I stuck with it . I learned so much about Lincoln and his journey through the events leading up to the emancipation of the slaves and his conclusion that all men are created equal. What seems obvious to us was not obvious to people in the 1850s. Lincoln did a lot of growing, something that made him so dear to so many people. Listening to this book not only gave me great insight into the problems of the time and their arrempted solution that still affects our country today, but it also made me love Abe Lincoln more than I already did.
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- edchair
- 05-21-11
Outstanding Portrait of Lincoln's Struggle
The author not only traces the significant historical events surrounding Lincoln and slavery, but he deftly provides historical perspective to help the reader understand Lincoln's struggle. The issue of slavery is so easy for us to condemn today, but Lincoln had to deal with the issue in the context of a civil war, the racism of his day, and his own developing ideas on slavery and race. Tracing Lincoln's struggle helps us trace America's struggle with this cruel practice that nearly tore the nation apart. It is a very good book.
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- Rick Surles
- 06-17-20
Lincoln's evolution of thinking on abolition.
For all those who claim the civil war had nothing to do with slavery. Lincoln may have said that early on, but it seems like pure political obfuscation by his second inaugural address. Foner's research is deep, and his narrative is clear. The narrator does a good job in the presentation. Highly recommend this book.
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- Peter Riley
- 09-17-19
Outstanding!
Excellent analysis of Lincoln’s growth and change regarding his attitude towards slavery and abolition during he civil war. Very listenable audiobook read by Norman Dietz. If you want to dig deeper into the greatness of President Lincoln, don’t pass this book by.
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- Danny M.
- 12-19-11
Candid, fair, and sympathetic
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
I recommend this title to history teachers, history fans, civil rights advocates and lawmakers. This is a candid account of how brilliant people with good intentions struggle to implement liberty in an imperfect world.
What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?
There were some awkward pronunciations. I was distracted by the narrator's pronunciation of the
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
At 18 hours, there was no way I could listen to this in one sitting. As a high school History teacher, it was helpful to take breaks and reflect on the content.
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- Pablo M
- 09-10-21
Concise, thorough, and well-told
This is my favorite author on this period, and the examination of Lincoln did not disappoint. The focus on Lincoln's growth in regard to the questions regarding slavery kept it from being another random biography, and the narrator (same as the one in the Reconstruction book) is marvelous.
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1 person found this helpful